The Rancher's Christmas Match

“She’s meeting with Mr. West. That’s your dad,” she informed him.

He chuckled and she kept brushing.

“Did you stay in town last night?” he asked. He hated that he was so curious. But there was something about Rebecca Barnes. She was a mix of strength and sweetness, and then there was that slightly wounded and not-so-trusting glint in her eye.

Someone had hurt her. Maybe more than one someone.

He shook off the questions that he considered asking the little girl, who was busy brushing his horse, talking to it as if they were sharing their best-kept secrets.

“Nope.” Allie handed him the brush. “We stayed here.”

“Here?”

She gave him a curious look. “Are you going to be sick again?”

“I wasn’t sick,” he insisted. “And no, I’m not. I’m just surprised. I didn’t know you stayed here.”

“Because you were sleeping,” she said, sounding matter-of-fact. “We had dinner with Jack. He told us Maria made the casserole. It was better than anything my mom can cook. She burns stuff. She says it’s because she’s distracted.”

“She wouldn’t want you telling everyone that she can’t cook,” he warned.

“You’re not everyone. Anyway, we stayed here. In the garage. It’s a nice garage with no cars in it, so I don’t know why it’s called a garage.”

They’d stayed on the ranch. The thought unsettled him.

How much could he or should he ask without seeming too curious? He felt like a sixteen-year-old with a crush on the new girl. That wasn’t happening. No way. No how.

“Hey!” A shout from the front of the stable caught his attention.

“Hey back,” he returned.

Eve, a resident of the ranch, glared at him, then managed to soften her expression as she approached. Smile or no, she didn’t appear to be too happy, and it seemed his pint-size stable hand might be the reason.

“You ran off.” Eve pointed at the girl. “And you didn’t ask permission or tell me where you were going. That really isn’t very nice.”

“Eve,” he warned.

If there was another person on the ranch not naturally kid friendly, it was Eve. She’d come around by degrees as she’d gotten attached to Carson’s children. But she would be the first to admit that she didn’t have a lot of experience with children. She’d been an only child to what she referred to as her “hippy parents.”

He wanted to laugh, because somehow she always got stuck babysitting.

“Do I look like a day-care provider?” she asked him.

“You seemed to do a pretty good job,” Isaac teased. “Except you have a tendency to lose children. That can’t be good.”

“I wanted to see the horses,” Allie explained. “I should have told you, but I thought you’d say no.”

Eve maneuvered her chair around the horse, giving the animal a less-than-trusting glance. Shorty didn’t even twitch.

“What if something had happened?” Eve asked the little girl.

Allie’s shoulders hunkered forward and she sighed. “I didn’t think about that. I just wanted to see the animals. Did you know there’s a llama?”

Eve melted. She could act tough but on the inside she was a marshmallow. “Yeah, I know there’s a llama. Do me a favor—next time ask. And if you’re going to wander, take Maximus. Now we need to head back to the house. Your mom will be finished talking with Jack and she’ll be looking for you.”

“Do we have time to see the llama?” Allie moved close to Eve’s chair and leaned on the armrest.

“I think so. But I don’t do well in the dirt out there, so Isaac will have to take you.” Eve shot him a look.

He glared back, the way he would have done if he’d had a little sister that pestered him. He did have a little sister, a half sister named Daisy. But since they’d never met, he didn’t know if she was a pest.

“I’m kind of busy.”

Eve smirked. “Doing what?”

He glanced down at Allie. “Work.”

“What work would that be?” Eve continued.

“Believe it or not, Eve, ranch work is real work. There are fences to fix, cattle to work, horses we’re training.”

She saluted. “Gotcha, Sarge.”

He held a hand out to the child at his side. “Even a spitting llama is better than a stubborn female.”

As he walked away, Allie’s hand in his, Eve called out, “When you get done, could you take her to the house? I have to get some work done.”

“No problem,” he called back to her.

Allie was silent for a minute. “Isn’t she your friend?”

He glanced down at the blond-haired child. “She is my friend.”

“Did you date and get mad at each other?”

“No, we just like to tease. She knows how to...” He cut off the explanation because a kid wouldn’t understand Eve getting under his skin the way she did. “We just like to give each other a hard time. But no, we haven’t dated. We’re just friends.”

Neither of them dated. It was the code on the ranch. This was a place for healing, for getting lives back in order. Relationships were unnecessary baggage for people dealing with physical and emotional problems they’d brought back from war.

The last thing he needed was to drag a woman into his messed-up life. He remembered all too well what it had been like living on this ranch with Jack, back when he was still fighting the nightmares of Vietnam. He remembered Jack climbing into the bottle and not climbing out for weeks, the ranch crumbling around his ears and livestock begging to be fed.

He wasn’t Jack, but he feared the what-ifs.

What if he became Jack? What if he hurt a woman and children the way Jack had hurt his wife and kids?

Nah, it wasn’t worth that kind of guilt. And fortunately there’d never been a woman who had made him consider getting serious.

* * *

The room Jack West used as an office was on a back corner of the sprawling log home. Massive windows offered a view of the wide-open fields belonging to the ranch. One wall of the room was lined with floor-to-ceiling bookcases. The shelves were filled with books and family pictures, as well as trophies the ranch had won at different rodeo events in the tristate area. Tristate meaning Oklahoma, Arkansas and Missouri.

Jack had explained it all at the beginning of the meeting. He’d shared personal details that had been uncomfortable to hear. Stories of his wife, his children, his road to recovery and, now, today, trying to forge a relationship with his estranged, adult children.

So far Carson was the only one of the three who had agreed to meet with him. Isaac was not a full brother to Carson and his siblings, Colt and Daisy.

“I’d love to show you the building I have available,” Jack told Rebecca. “I think a salon with the potential to expand to a day spa is a terrific idea. I could see how it would benefit the resort we’re renovating. Now I admit, I’m concerned with your ability to bring in local traffic.”

“I think you might be surprised,” she countered. “Also, we could advertise in nearby communities, like Grove. If people want to get away for the day, go to a top-notch salon, perhaps eat at the tearoom you say is going to be opening in the spring, then why not come to Hope?”

“Why not come to Hope?” He grinned at that. “Good point. We should use that in advertising to local communities.”

She couldn’t help but smile at his approval. Goodness, she had to stop needing this man’s approval and she had to stop basking in his praise. He wasn’t her father. And if he learned about her past, he might not be as easygoing as he appeared.

“Yes, why not come to Hope?” Rebecca repeated.

Jack gave her a long look. “Why did you come to Hope, Rebecca?”

The question took her by surprise. What should she tell him? She had a feeling he would find out her secrets somehow, some way.

“My parents live in Grove. After my aunt passed away last year, I realized Allie and I were adrift in Arizona with no support system. I had friends, but they were busy with their own lives. I decided to move closer to home and I saw your advertisement. My parents...” They wanted nothing to do with her or with Allie. But that didn’t matter. If something happened to Rebecca, her parents would be there for Allie. She had to believe that. After all, she was their only child. Allie their only grandchild.

“Rebecca?”

She shook her head at the question. “I’m sorry, I got lost in thought.”

“If you ever want to talk...” he offered. And then he grinned. “If you ever want to talk, Kylie is a good listener. I give too much advice and have too many opinions. Or at least that’s what the folks hereabouts like to say.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” She glanced out the window, gathering thoughts that continued to go astray.

Thoughts that could get a woman in trouble. Thoughts of a cowboy with steel-gray eyes and a smile that flashed often and with a ton of mischievous charm. He’d disappeared yesterday after Allie’s seizure and she hadn’t seen him since. Not even when several of the ranch residents had gathered for dinner in the big dining room that connected to the kitchen.

No one had mentioned him. No one said anything about checking on him to make sure he was okay. Not that it mattered to her.

Her focus needed to stay on taking care of Allie and providing for them as best she could. She was a single mom with only herself to rely on. And now, strangely, she seemed to have a friend in Jack West. With that in mind, she had to do her best. She had to make a success of this salon.

Another quick glance out the window and the object of her thoughts appeared. And next to him, her daughter. They were standing at the fence, and Allie had climbed the bottom rail to stand next to him, her hand reaching for the white-and-black animal.

Rebecca stood. “I should go get Allie. I didn’t mean to impose on Eve. And now it seems Isaac has taken over babysitting duty.”

She diverted her attention back to Jack, who remained sitting in his deeply cushioned office chair. He, too, had spotted Isaac and Allie, but didn’t look concerned.

“She might have had to get some work done,” he said of Eve, who had been a longtime resident of the ranch. “I’m afraid I hadn’t planned on our meeting taking quite this long. And I apologize to you for that. Why don’t you head on out there and make sure things are okay? Later we’ll drive to town and take a look at the building. I’d like for you to see it in person and then we can compare your design ideas to the actual structure. If you like it, it’s all yours.”

“Thank you, Mr. West.”

“Jack.” He smiled as he corrected her.

“Thank you, Jack.”

A moment later she was cutting across the lawn in the direction of the small enclosure where her daughter remained next to Isaac, her hand reaching for the llama, which seemed less interested in the grass in Allie’s hand and more interested in the man next to her.

The llama must be female. He probably charmed all females, young children, animals. Not Rebecca, of course. She couldn’t be charmed. She had no desire to be charmed. Ever again. Because charming men usually had an agenda and it usually ended with her being hurt.

“Hey,” Rebecca called out. Allie glanced her way. Isaac continued to stare straight ahead. Ignoring her, of course.

The phone in her back pocket buzzed. She wanted to ignore it, but pulled it from her pocket and answered.

“Rebecca Barnes?” The voice wasn’t a familiar one. It had been years, but her first thought was that something had happened to her parents.

“This is she.”

“My name is Jared Owens. I’m a parole officer out of Springfield, Missouri.”

Her heart dropped. This call could go only one way. It would bring back the past. It would bring back the guilt and the pain.

“Okay.” She focused on Allie, who had turned around to watch her. Rebecca waved and smiled, as if the call hadn’t left her cold inside.

“Miss Barnes, Greg Baxter was released from prison one month ago. He’s missed two appointments with me and I have reason to believe he might be in Oklahoma.”

“How did you get my number?” She hadn’t been in contact with Greg in years. Not since he robbed a store, shortly after she’d realized she was pregnant with Allie. She’d been eighteen at the time and Greg had been a mistake. Her attention remained on Allie, who was definitely not a mistake. She was something beautiful from something so ugly and hurtful. Her daughter.

“Your mother gave me your number,” he continued. “Miss Barnes, we have reason to believe that Greg will try to locate you and his daughter.”

“No.” The one word emerged from deep within. “He can’t see her.”

“I understand that. I agree that he should not be in your lives. I want you to understand that there is a warrant out for his arrest. He violated the conditions of his parole and it’s our intention to bring him back to the state of Missouri. This is a courtesy call because I wouldn’t want you to be taken by surprise should he try to contact you.”

“Thank you. I do appreciate that.”

“Miss Barnes, if he does contact you, please phone us. I’ll give you my direct line.”

“I’ll put it in my phone.” She managed to minimize the screen and switch to Contacts. With fingers that felt cold and clumsy she entered the name and number. The call ended. Her world shifted precariously as she considered what it meant to her life, to Allie’s life, that Greg Baxter had been released. She drew in a deep breath and then exhaled. She wouldn’t let him take anything else from her.

Over the years people had told her to have faith, to realize God had a plan. She’d been unable to find faith since the day her dad had told her that Allie’s seizures were a direct result of Rebecca’s sins.

“Mom?” Allie called out, her happy grin faltering.

Rebecca hurried forward, plastering a smile on her face and avoiding eye contact with the man who studied her with a knowing expression.

“We were meeting Mama Llama,” he finally said.

She had to look at him, had to pretend that everything was just fine. Had to prove she wasn’t shaking inside, threatened by the past and the memories.

“Mama Llama doesn’t appear to like you very much,” Rebecca said, pointing to the animal, which had drawn back and bared its teeth at Isaac.

“Yeah, females sometimes take an instant dislike to me. I can’t imagine why.”

“He let me brush his horse,” Allie chimed in. It seemed not all females disliked the cowboy.

“That must have been fun. And where is Eve?”

Allie shot Isaac a worried look and Rebecca pretended not to notice his wink.

“She had to get some work done,” he explained.

Not only had he charmed her daughter, now he was aiding and abetting her. Rebecca pinned him with a look, and like her daughter, he squirmed a little with guilt.

“And she brought Allie to you?”

Allie groaned. “I might have sneaked off while she was on the phone. I saw the horses.”

“Telling the truth,” Isaac said. “Always good for the soul.”

Rebecca held out a hand to her daughter. “We’re going to town for lunch and then we will meet Mr. West at the shop. Isaac, thank you.”

He pushed against the llama as it reached across the fence to nip at his sleeve. The animal came back and grabbed his hat. Allie laughed until tears rolled down her cheeks, and the tension inside Rebecca eased.

Isaac pointed at Rebecca. “Was that a giggle, Ms. Barnes?”

“I’m an adult. I don’t giggle.” Rebecca smiled as he pushed his hat, tooth marks and all, back on his head.

“It most definitely was a giggle. And for that, I’m buying lunch.”

Rebecca tried to object. She seriously wanted to tell him he couldn’t. But before she could respond, Allie had jumped down off the railing, a huge grin on her face, obviously thrilled with the idea.

So she accepted. For Allie’s sake. Nothing else.

Chapter Four

It didn’t take a genius to see that Rebecca Barnes had secrets, and she guarded them as carefully as she did her daughter. Isaac liked that about her, even if it made it difficult to get to know her. Of course, he probably wasn’t the easiest guy in the world to get to know.

He had his own closely guarded secrets and memories. He had plenty of things he didn’t talk about.

As he contemplated her across the table from him, he thought about telling her he understood. He doubted this was the right time. Allie had been questioning her nonstop about Christmas. Once she’d mentioned grandparents, Rebecca had shot her a quick look to quiet her. Jack had noticed, as well as Kylie and Jack.

The five of them were having lunch at Mattie’s Café in town. The proprietor, Holly Jones, had just made it around to their table, passing out samples of a new dessert she’d just invented.

“We need Christmas trees,” Kylie mentioned casually, as she took a bite of the dessert. Her face puckered up and she blinked a few times.

Isaac laughed and Allie hid a giggle behind her hand. He winked at the little girl and they waited as Kylie tried to get her face straight again, smiling across the café at Holly.

“You know she can’t bake a cake,” Isaac whispered. “Didn’t you notice, I put all of mine on Rebecca’s plate?”

Rebecca glanced down at it and her mouth dropped.

Isaac took his sister-in-law’s plate and scraped the remaining cake onto Allie’s. “Holly can’t bake. She thinks she can. She watches those reality cooking shows where they make them put together horrible concoctions like salmon and chocolate. For some reason she probably thought anchovies would make a great dessert. A little lemon, some fish, a dash of poppy seeds.”

“I heard that, Isaac West,” Holly called out from across the room. “You’re a horrible person.”

“Holly Jones, you’re going to jail for trying to poison the good citizens of Hope. There’s no hope for your cakes.”

Allie dissolved in giggles and even Rebecca forgot herself and laughed. Isaac caught himself staring at her. She glowed when she laughed. Her eyes lit up and her smile changed the casual beauty of her face into something extraordinary. If he lived to be one hundred, he would never forget that smile. Kylie elbowed him and he gulped and reached for water. Holly was crossing the room, her brown hair framing her elfin face. Her green eyes flashed with fire. She picked up the plate of cake and placed it in front of Isaac.

“I apologize, Kylie, your lunch is on me. You mistakenly got the cake I intended for Isaac.”

All around them chuckles and laughter filled the café as people realized the joke had been on Isaac. Rebecca took a bite of her cake and smiled at him. “Mmm, delicious,” she said.

“Holly, that just isn’t Christian of you,” Isaac said as he scooped up a bite of the cake he’d put in front of Rebecca. “This is actually edible. It really is lemon. And no anchovies.”

“Fool. It’s lemon and raspberry. I’m tired of you complaining about my inventions.”

“Well, some of them just aren’t that good,” Isaac told her.

She wrinkled her nose at him, and then smiled at Allie. “I bet you’ll be starting school here, won’t you?”

Allie nodded. “Next week.”

“You’ll make a lot of very good friends. There are quite a few about your age in my Sunday school class. We’re getting ready to start practicing for our Christmas play.” She picked up an empty plate as she spoke. “I have to get back to work. You all have a good weekend. See you at church Sunday.”

“Yeah, and I’ll pray for you,” Isaac called out to her retreating back.

“You do that, Isaac.”

“We don’t go to church,” Allie said, to no one in particular. But Isaac noticed Rebecca’s cheeks go slightly pink at her daughter’s revelation.

“How about those Christmas trees,” he interjected. “I love a big old Christmas tree. Especially cedar.”

“Because you know I’m allergic,” Jack grumbled. “We can pick up live trees at the feed store. They’re in pots and we can plant them after Christmas.”

“But we’ll put the artificial tree in the main house,” Kylie added. “The trees at the feed store are pretty, but they’re never large enough for the living area.”

Isaac agreed, but his gaze slid to the woman sitting across from him. Rebecca had a lost look on her face. It had started with the topic of church and hadn’t gotten better when they’d switched to talking about Christmas trees.

She had stories, a troubled past. Right now she had a softness about her that hinted at tears. Not his problem.

He usually stuck to that motto, but Rebecca changed things. Because she didn’t seek attention. She didn’t put her pain out there for everyone to take a look at. She was private, strong and hurting.

He respected that.

He also liked her daughter, and he couldn’t get that sad little voice out of his head when she’d said she didn’t go to church. He remembered being about her age listening to other people talk about the things they did as families, things he never understood. Going to church together was one of the biggies. But there had been other things, like family dinners, trips to the lake, playing ball. A kid shouldn’t have to yearn for the things that childhood seemed to guarantee.

With that in mind he spoke up. “About that Christmas program?” he said to Allie.

The little girl lit up and her mother’s eyes narrowed. “I bet you’d love to be a part of it, wouldn’t you?” he asked Allie. “If your mom doesn’t mind. Every child gets a part and even if something goes wrong, it’s still the best thing ever.”

“I don’t think so,” Rebecca said.

At the same time Allie asked, “Do you think I could?”

Rebecca mouthed the word don’t silently.

He got the message loud and clear.

Someone in church had hurt her. If he had to guess, it probably had something to do with Allie.

Jack got to his feet, steadier today. “We should get on the road. Rebecca is going to make a list of materials she’d like to purchase for the shop. Isaac, you should see to those Christmas trees.”

Isaac grabbed the bill Holly had left on the table. “I’ll do that, but I’d prefer to wait until Allie can go with me. I have a feeling she’s a Christmas tree expert.”

Just like he was an expert at getting involved where he shouldn’t. Allie didn’t remind him of a child in Afghanistan, a little girl with dark hair and pleading eyes. He’d seen her look his way. And then she’d been engulfed by the explosion, the smoke, the violence. Her story never made it to the news. No one thought about her or the tragedy of a young life lost. He remembered. His friends remembered. The image had stayed with them. There were times late at night that he’d get a text from one of the men he’d been stationed with, asking if he still had nightmares.

He did.

“Isaac.” Jack’s voice caught him mid-thought. A hand on his arm brought him back to the present and he managed to breathe, to clear his head. He swiped an arm across his forehead and walked off, still holding the bill for their lunch.

He heard Holly say something like “don’t worry about it, it’s on the house.” Jack told her to take the money. Conversation buzzed around him as he walked out of the café, the door closing behind him, cutting him off from the buzz of curious voices.

As he walked down the sidewalk, a headache started. Throbbing pain began at his temple and radiated down to his ear and above his eye. He leaned against the building, closing his eyes as he drew in fresh air.

“Breathe,” a low voice told him. He’d expected it to be Kylie. It wasn’t, though. He was surprised to hear Rebecca’s soft alto.

“Easier said than done.” He opened his eyes, but squinted against the sun. He pulled sunglasses out of his pocket and slid them on.

She stood next to him, shoulder to shoulder. She was a surprise. First, he’d expected her to walk on, or to take the same stand she’d taken on Monday when she’d offered him a ride.

Instead, she remained next to him.

He matched his breathing to hers until his thoughts became rational once more. The sky was blue. A cool north wind brought the fragrant hint of fall turning to winter. The town maintenance crew was working from bucket trucks, hanging lights from poles.